Two Frome car parks in list of highest fine hotspots

By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Mumby with additional reporting by Frome Times

Two Frome car parks are among those recording some of the highest numbers of parking fines in the county. 

Cattle Market Car Park and Cork Street Car Park were both included in a list of 10 Somerset Council-run car parks with the highest number of penalty charge notices issued.

The car parks saw a combined total of nearly 2,000 fines in the 2025/26 financial year.

Cattle Market Car Park, near the Cheese and Grain, recorded 1,229 fines, while Cork Street Car Park recorded 714.

Somerset Council generates income through parking fines – technically known as penalty charges, or PCNs – which are levied against motorists for a range of traffic offences, from overstaying in a pay and display car park to parking on double yellow lines.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the amount of income generated by PCNs has doubled from nearly £780,000 in 2020/21 to more than £1.5m in 2025/26.

The council has said that this income is spent on maintaining existing parking services and officers do not expect this income to increase significantly in the coming years.

PCNs in Somerset are usually £50 for minor contraventions (e.g. overstaying a time limit or not paying for parking) and £70 for more serious issues (e.g. going through a bus gate or parking on a single or double yellow line).

In both instances, those who have been fined can see their penalty reduced by 50 per cent if they pay within 14 days of receiving the fine – bringing it down to £25 and £35 respectively.

Somerset Council said that any funding raised from parking fines had to be reinvested in parking or associated services meaning it cannot be used to fund adult social care, children’s social care or any other work carried out by the local authority.

A spokesperson said, “Any surplus from parking penalties and parking charges is used to cover the costs of running parking services and meeting parking-related obligations.

“Once these costs are met, any remaining surplus is generally restricted to purposes such as public transport, road and highway improvements, parking provision and local environmental improvements, in line with the statutory framework in England.

“We are not expecting penalty charge notice volumes to increase, and no increase has been built into the medium-term financial plan.”

Other car parks listed include five in Taunton, two in Street and one in Wellington. The highest number of fines was recorded at The Crescent car park in Taunton, with 1,368.

Pictures: Google Maps